Damn.The man was observant.
She was going to have to watch herself, moving forward. If she wasn’t careful, he’d have every one of her secrets laid bare on the table before she’d so much as opened her mouth.
CHAPTER 7
Julian had to tread softly.
He could already see that something had spooked Petula, but he had no clue what that was. They’d only talked food so far.
Maybe he should offer up some things about himself, then indicate that she was in no way obligated to do so in return.
“You know, it’s been interesting for me, getting out after twenty-five years of service,” he told her after taking his first sip of the glorious beverage in front of him. “I think that the transition, however, has been easier for me than my brothers.”
“Why is that?” she questioned, picking up her breakfast Danish to nibble at it, clearly glad he’d broached a neutral topic.
“Well, I spent the last ten years based in Bangor, which meant I could come home for supper almost any time I wanted. It also kept me in touch with everything going on, locally, unlike them, who were all much farther away.”
“That makes sense,” she agreed. “My brother did ten years in the Army Corp of Engineers. He was based mostly in the US, but not around here.”
Julian digested that, and…he wanted to cheer. He hadn’t asked for any info, but Petula had willingly given him some. Not that he was going to pursue it with follow-up questions.
“Yeah. I was…elsewhere for my first fifteen years. It can be exhausting. But now that I’m wearing a businessman’s hat instead of a helmet, my life feels almost surreal. Nobody is barking orders at me from the top. I’m not barraged daily with critical data that needs immediate addressing, and I’m not the sounding board for the problems of every person on my team. Not that it was a bad thing,” he was quick to clarify. “I’m a very good, sympathetic listener, and am always willing to lend an ear.”
Maybe that would put her a bit more at ease.
“I bet you got that from growing up as a middle brother,” Petula speculated astutely.
“Bingo,” Julian replied with a chuckle. “All my siblings, both younger and older, were gregarious and outspoken. I was the one who sat back and assessed; put balm on their egos when they were down, or buoyed them up when they needed reassurance. It kinda sucked at the time, always having to be the voice of reason, but when I was deployed and in charge of several units, I thanked them every day for inadvertently giving me those skills.”
“Where were you deployed, if I can ask,” Petula probed.
“Ahh, where haven’t I been?” he snorted, thensemi-filled her in. “I can’t tell you anything that was classified, but needless to say I’ve seen action in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines, and Kabul. My team also assisted with domestic relief during and after Hurricane Katrina.”
“That’s a lot,” Petula marveled, her eyes showing her understanding. “Statler, my brother, helped with a lot of critical infrastructure following Hurricane Katrina, too, but being on American soil was pretty much normal for him.”
Julian nodded. “He was one of the lucky ones. You feel more connected doing things on your home turf.” He segued. “You mentioned living with your brother. Is your home nearby?” He’dgotten the low down from Tabitha, but it would be nice to hear it directly from Petula.
He immediately sensed her shutting down. “Close enough.”
Okay.That was a dead end. So…
Maybe he’d ask about her interactions withhisfamily. That should be safe territory.
“You seem to know just about everyone in town, and you mentioned knowing a lot of my family?”
Her features lightened. “Uh, huh. Obviously, Spence, Buck, Trask, and their wives, from the Dive Shop, and Bobbie from her catering business.”
“Who else?” Julian hoped she’d continue talking.
“There’s Mason and Everlee, ordering toys for their daughter, like I said.” She smiled. “And Rowan I’ve met when making deliveries to Everlee. I’m alittlebit familiar with her husband, Kyle, but we’ve never actually been introduced.”
Julian laughed. “You’ll love him. Everybody does. He’s a Bangor cop, as you know, and also the jokester in the family.”
“The jokester?”
“Yup. He’s second only to Vincent, who is completely irredeemable.”
“I don’t know Vincent at all,” she pondered. “I understand that he played football against my brother, though, in high school.”
